Russ Smith and Luke Hancock walked from the Louisville locker room to the interview room at the Amway Center on Wednesday afternoon. Smith remembers making these walks at previous NCAA Tournaments, and he remembers them being really long walks.

He remembers the walk at the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans. He remembers the walk at last season's Final Four in Atlanta. This isn't the Final Four, but it is an easy walk.

"It was pretty cool," Smith said. "I mean the walk is only about 45 seconds."

The point is that there aren't many basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament that are so familiar with their surroundings that they remember how long it takes to walk from the locker room to the interview room.

But for the No. 4-seeded Cardinals, who open the tournament against No. 13 Manhattan tonight, this is business as usual. This is comfortable. This is home.

"For myself and Luke and a bunch of the veterans, we just walk in here like we've been here before," Smith said. "We've done it, so let's just take care of our business and move on and advance."

Whether the rest of the field wants to acknowledge it or not, the defending champions are here, and they will not be overwhelmed by what will be an overwhelming weekend for so many others.

"We've been doing this for so long," forward Wayne Blackshear said. "The last two years give us confidence, because we know what's going on around us."

There is an unusual rhythm to the NCAA Tournament, particularly the opening weekend. There are weekday games at noon and there are weeknight games around 10 p.m. (That, of course, is when the Cardinals will be playing tonight so don't forget to sneak in that midday nap.)

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The Courier-Journal's Adam Himmelsbach and Jeff Greer on U of L's matchup with former Pitino assistant and Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello. Neither coach is pleased with the decision. (Video by Sam Upshaw Jr., The Courier-Journal)

There is also a common misconception that NCAA Tournament crowds are wild and wacky. In reality, the atmospheres in opening games are often tepid, because tickets are spread among eight fan bases and matchups aren't necessarily enthralling. If an upset is brewing, there is buzz. If not, there is sometimes blah.

Center Stephan Van Treese expects Orlando to feel a bit like Portland did in the opening weekend two seasons ago — which is to say, not like Lexington last year. But for the Cardinals, it doesn't matter.

"We go out there and we're pretty loose," Van Treese said. "We're not really tense. We kind of know what to expect and how the game is gonna go. Being in the NCAA tournament, it's a lot different arrangement. Just having that experience is a big-time advantage for us."

Cardinals forward Montrezl Harrell sat at his locker on Wednesday afternoon with his hands folded. He was wearing a 2013 national championship T-shirt. A national championship hat rested on a hook behind him.

It was a quiet, honest and strong reminder of where U of L has been and where it would like to go.

Harrell said he and the other veterans have made an effort to ensure that first-timers like Chris Jones, Terry Rozier and Mangok Mathiang understand what is expected of them here. So far, he's been encouraged by their confidence and their poise.

Players are locked in during practices. Harrell looks around the room at team meetings and sees everyone listening intently to coach Rick Pitino. And the important part is none of that feels out of the ordinary. It feels comfortable. It feels normal.

"We know this is a business trip," Harrell said. "We're not here to play around."

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at (502) 582-4372, by email at ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.